Propaganda Works #44561

Tom Vuksta of Fairfield really gets a lot from BushCo commercials. I've seen locally the ads that start with a positive Bush trying his best to be Reagan by sounding "positive" and then it switches and attacks Kerry for talking about the "Great Depression." Tom was suckered into this via this letter to the editor (last):

I have been reading newspaper reports and television reports in which Sen. John Kerry keeps comparing today's financial problems to that of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
If Kerry thinks we are now in the equivalent of the great depression, I can only say that I knew the great depression because I lived through it. Kerry does not know what the Great Depression was really like - he did not live through it. There is absolutely no comparison between today and the 1930s.
Thomas Vuksta, Jr.
Fairfield

Now, this is either an astro-turf letter or it is from an older guy who only reads the spin, and not the full speech of Kerry. When Kerry was in town he did not talk about the Great Depression, Rob Portman did>

"I know it is in John Kerry's political interests to badmouth the economy and compare it to the Great Depression, but the truth is we are experiencing the fastest economic growth in 20 years," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, the communications chairman of Bush's Ohio campaign.

BushCo is pissed because Kerry regularly says that not since the Great Depression have we lost more jobs. Just like this from a Dayton Speech:

Under his watch, we've lost more jobs than at any time since the Great Depression.

That is not comparing it to the Great Depression, it is using the Great Depression job loss record as a bench mark. This how spinning is done. BushCo says something that Kerry does not say, and then get idiots to believe it because they don't know the details if original remarks. Now, I shall surely here from the BushCo folks saying that Kerry is lying or what ever else they want, but the fact is this is spinning. This is propaganda. Kerry's facts are "correct." If not, then BushCo would be calling him a liar, which on this they are not.

This is what I hate in politics. This is not debate, this is just playing "see who can hit the cookie first, last one has to eat it."

Clinton Haters

They will never die! They are the human version of cockroaches. CBS broke with precedent and aired anti-Clinton commercials during last night’s “60 Minutes” from a conservative group who seem bent on destroying Clinton's Book. Isn't that a actionable suit for Clinton's publisher? The commercials reportedly aired in here in Cincinnati. I was out and missed “60 Minutes” last night. Tom Hanks was very good in "The Terminal" by the way.

Did anyone see the commercials?

"Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love"

It is Saturday so I am in the mood to kick back and post on something without any news value at all. There are certain movies with certain female characters that I have been very enamored with. In no particular order, here is a list of those who most tickled my fancy.

1. Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Samantha Lord in The Philadelphia Story


2. Maureen O'Hara as Mary Kate Danaher in The Quiet Man


3. Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund Laszlo in Casablanca


4. Tara Fitzgerald as Betty in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain


5. Kristin Scott Thomas as Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral


6. Emma Thompson as Beatrice Much Ado About Nothing


7. Meg Ryan as Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle


8. Alyson Hannigan as Michelle Flaherty in American Pie 2


9. Winona Ryder as Josephine "Jo" March in Little Women


10. Natalie Portman as Queen Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Now, please keep the ribbing to a minimum.

Anti-Red Cross Sentiment?

Where do idiotic attacks on the Red Cross come from? The Enquirer has a letter that puts forth condemnation of the Red Cross with an almost anti-UN style:

Will Red Cross act over Johnson death?

First, the beheading (on tape and all over the Internet) of Nick Berg in Iraq in May, and now, the beheading (again, on tape and all over the Internet) of Paul Johnson Jr. in Saudi Arabia.

Does the International Red Cross have any plans to determine whether these two incidents were 'acceptable forms of treatment of prisoners,' to the same extent as it has been doing with the incidents at Abu Gharaib Prison and elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan by the coalition forces?

Dan Nebert,
Wyoming

Most who know anything about the Geneva Conventions knows that the Red Cross has been charged with determining the treatment of prisoners of war and other detainees held during arm conflicts. It is not the Red Cross's job to inspect criminal organizations who have kidnapped individuals.

The letter implies that the Red Cross should not be worrying about the treatment of Prisoners in American jails. His other contention could only be to try and equate al Qaeda to the US Military, which I am fairly sure he would rebuke. Bottom line issue Mr. Nebert should think about: America is supposed to be better than torture. We are the beacon to the world on human rights, and when we fail, even if one thinks we did so only moderately (a real stretch), we must hold ourselves as highly accountable as any other country. Mr. Nebert likely would prefer to just let the military wipe out anyone who dares not follow American(BushCo) geo-political policy. I guess I am next on the list. Well maybe not next, but on the list.

Know in the News

Nice article today on the Know Theatre Tribe with reports of a fall production, Jason Bruffy news, and Know-to-Go specifics.

By the way ANOTHER AMERICAN: Asking and Telling still has performances on June 18th, 19th, 24th, and 26th.

New College in Warren County

The Ohio Board of Regents annouced approval of a plan to start a community college in Warren county, likely in the Lebanon area. The school has no permanent facility and will be cooperating with three different state schools until they are on their feet.

Countdown to Election Day Rally

Sign up HERE if you want to attend the Countdown to Election Day Rally and Citywide day of action which is part of the Campaign to Repeal Article XII.

Help take a bite out of Phil Burress’s ass! Stop the theocratic fascists in their tracks come November.

'Back in the Day'

Last night while enjoying a wonderful CT walk up in Mt. Adams I got into a great bar debate with a woman whom I shall only call Ms. A. Now, Ms. A commented on the phrase "back in the day" that I used in a discussion we were having about Cincinnati and indicated that she had only heard that phrase used here in Cincinnati, and she hears it a lot. Now, I am not a native of Cincinnati, so I am more than willing to bash us for being 10 years or more behind the times, which made me state that I was sure that they phrase was not unique to Cincinnati. Well, I was right. The Urban Dictionary has it listed: Back in the day. Most of the entries put it forth as an intercity phrase, which has been co-opted by the mainstream society, including myself. Now, this phrase is, as it is put in one of the definitions, really old-school. Cincinnati is not known for cutting edge urban language, so my guess is that we here are finally catching up with a phrase that was "hip" back in the day, say around 1988.

Oh, the coolnees we infuse on the culture. Please?

Crock of Beans

Bush is coming again to Cincinnati. It is just odd how both candidates just follow each other around.

Bush's reported topic will be hismarriage plan. Now, not his anti-gay stances, all though this is a "great" place to push that, he instead is trying to push a social agenda through the law. I thought that the GOP was against that? Oh, right, they are only against it when they are not either reaping the benefits of the cash flow, or their religious dogma is not the social agenda being pushed. He is seeking to push marriage, or should I say encourage, on poor people. If you have to be poor, what better way then to have more mouths to feed and more people to argue with about money.

I was most amused by the comments in the article from a Bush spokesperson:

'The president is going to be talking about his compassion agenda, highlighting his goals to create a more compassionate society,' White House spokesman Jim Morrell said. 'He will be touching on his Healthy Marriage Initiative as well as focusing on ways of building a culture of personal responsibility.'

Now, how is a president supposed to be taken seriously on creating a compassionate society when he rejects support for Stem Cell research on the heals of a call from the Reagans to increase government funding of Stem Cell research in hopes of curing diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s? How can this president seek a society that builds personal responsibility when he can't take personal responsibility for misleading the American public on why we went to war in Iraq? He blames the CIA or some other nameless intelligence agency. He shows he compassion by leading a war that killed thousands of Iraqi civilians and over 800 Americans. That is a great model for American kids. I mean Clinton played semantics with lying about blowjobs and Bush is playing word games with what constitutes "links" with al Qaeda.

More on Bush's visit from the Post and WCPO.

Intent

Down in KY the conservative fundamentalists have taken hold of the state with an iron hand. The new law they have created has to been seen for the intent, not just the anecdotal example used to sell it.

The intent of this law is to try and criminalize abortion. It does not do anything to prevent crime. It does not do anything to deter someone from killing a pregnant woman. The purpose is to put forth a conservative religious agenda by using the law.

Hmmmmmm Doggie, I love opening up a can of worms, and there is no can as big as the abortion debate.

QCF Scoops the Enquirer

The Tyrone Yates letter to the governor hit the pages of the Enquirer a day after the Queen City Forum broke the story by publishing the letter.

Yates to Taft: Summer Riots Possible

The Queen City Forum has a letter from Tyrone Yates, Ohio House Rep, to Governor Bob Taft. In the letter Taft warns that if Ohio does not provide summer jobs funding, there will be summer riots.

Is this over the edge? Are we that close to summer riots? Does Yates really think more jobs would stop riots this summer? It would help in the future, but that fast?

UPDATED for Grammar. Damn, I was almost late to work for stopping to post on this.

America as the Bully

Jack Sinkking of Batavia wrote in a letter to the Enquirer:

Those railing against the war in Iraq could learn a lesson from these young people. No sane person wants war but it's like the old schoolyard bully where every once in a while someone needs the guts to stand up and smack him in the mouth.

I think Jack should take a look around. America is now viewed as the bully in the world. Saddam was a dying despot. He was not bully anyone but his own people. Jack might want to worry about the rest of the world pulling a "Bush" on us and invading. (Yes conservatives, that is called sarcasm. I am not serious about the US being invaded.)

CiN Weekly's Editor's Note

Beryl Love, Editor of Cin Weekly has written a blog like quick take column. I like it. Cin needs opinion. It needs real opinions on culture, current events, and politics. Their business model likely has no room for those, but this small piece is a good start.

Bam! The Future of Rock Lives

It's Alive!!!!! 97X willbegin web broadcasting within two weeks, according to Doug Balogh, former owner of 97.7 FM. Two mystery investors have come to rescue and help get 97X back on the web.

I wonder about several issues: Where will the broadcast studio be? Still in Oxford? I would suggest they move it to Cincinnati. Set up shop in OTR and have a window studio on its worldwide home.

Portune on Drake

Why was Todd Portune worried about voiting on the Drake? The Drake is, by the way, a rehabilitation center publicly funded here in Cincinnati, something you did not get from the article, but should have.

I guess the school board can't vote the school related issues if their kids go to the same school district they live in. Well, they should at least consult the ethic committee so they don't have their childless political foes attacking them. Todd's grief likely comes from those who don't need a wheelchair.

Kerry Visits Cincinnati

Korte has a pretty good articlesummarising the speech Kerry gave at the fundraiser. The Enquirer also added a second story of breifs including a section on one of the attendees who was an old personal friend of Kerry who now works at UC. The second story included more of the political holders-on who spun the event with the usually blah blah blah.

What was missing from the Enquirer? Not what I expected. They included a non-AP wire story from the Columbus rally. The Blade also ran a story as did the DDN and PD. The Plain Dealer also gave us the "Pickle," infamous AP reporter whose negative bias towards Kerry has been known to be biased.

P&G Aiding Sexual Revolution

Does the CCV know about this? One whiff of this news and I am sure that the letter writing campaign will start to keep women from using what will likely be called the female Viagra.

Phil Burress and the boys love to control women's sexual practices, so I am sure this will be next on their list of companies to boycott. No more Tide! No more Crest! No more Charmin (its the best!)

Punting on Third Down

SCOTUS took the easy way out and punted. They did this I think in part because of avoiding making a ruling in the current political climate where riots in the streets are not just something in the movies, but instead something people realize could happen. I do admit that the thought of being attacked for not being religious is something I think is very possible, especially in this city.

Kerry in Ohio

Kerry will be in town today for a fundraiser and then go to Columbus for a rally. Will the flip-flopping college kids return? Will the coverage of them be as high from the Enquirer if they do come? Will the paper even cover the event? We might get a report on the fundraiser, but we will likely only get an AP report on the Columbus rally, if they are feeling chipper.